Third Wave of Polish Migration to New Zealand~

                                                                                                                        (1939-1944)

            "I use to dream about having enough bread." 



The Story of Seven Hundred Polish Children: 

    In 1939, many Poles were victims of war when Poland was divided and occupied by Germany and Russia. Those living in eastern Poland were under the Russian control. One day in the middle of the night, they were told that they had an hour to pack, and many families were deported to work camps in Siberia. On the pack train cars, they had little food and no sanitation areas. Many people died on the way from starvation, disease, and exposure. One million five hundred thousand Poles were deported and lived on bread and water alone. When Russia and Germany joined powers, that was when the Poles were freed from Siberia. Many of the children became orphans after that and they were sent across the Caspian Sea and stayed in Persia (Iran). They stayed in Persia for two years, and then after wondering for a total of five years, they traveled on to New Zealand. 

    On November 1, 1944, 700 children traveled to Wellington, New Zealand. They were invited there by Prime Minister Peter Fraser. The children had numbers on their coats in order to help with the language barriers. As they traveled to their camp in Pahīatua, many people in New Zealand lined up to welcome them and to wave as they traveled through the countryside. The government camps became their homes, and the soldiers helped to feed them and gave them beds to sleep in. 




The children with Prime Minister Peter Fraser




Children's Recollections: 

    When the children were still in school in Siberia, they were told to pray to Joseph Stalin because they were told he was the only person more powerful than God. When they told their parents what happened, they were very angry. The parents told the commander that they controlled their bodies but to leave their souls alone. 





What happened to the children: 

    The children grew and became bankers, teachers, priests, contractors, tailors, and doctors. Many of them married other Poles, but others married New Zealanders. Some of the children were able to reconnect with their families. 

First Person Narrative: 

    I grew up wandering, never having a home or a substantial amount of food. I was always hungry, tired, and cold. I cannot recount my memories of Siberia. There are distant and suppressed almost as if it could just have been a bad dream. We continued our wandering from Siberia to Persia and then finally New Zealand. Immediately, I knew something was different. I was still young, but I felt welcomed, wanted, loved. I was finally home.  

Sources: 
Beaglehole, Ann. “The Polish Children and Everyone after: 75 Years of Welcoming Refugees.” The Spinoff, 31 Oct. 2019.

Forlong, Michael. “Weekly Review No. 169 - New Zealand Soldiers and Polish Children: Short Film.” NZ On Screen.

O'Brien, Kathleen. “The Story of Seven-Hundred Polish Children: Television.” NZ On Screen, 1967.


     
    
    

Comments

  1. You recount history of a nation which I have never before learned. My childhood best friend's parents immigrated to the United States from Latvia during this same time period. As a child I marveled at their families' courage to cross the ocean to begin anew in America. But now I realize from what they escaped (if their plight was anything like the Poles). My eyes have been opened, and now, after reading your posts, I reflect on their challenges and sacrifices.

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